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bahamutgames · 8 months ago

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Super Afterthoughts RPG

Game: Super Mario RPG (November 17, 2023)

Console: Nintendo Switch

Hello hello! It's late at night, and I'm trying to get myself to write up my thoughts on some games again! I've got a few to get through. But this one in particular I've been holding off on for a good minute. Because... well... the original game is my favorite game of all time! It's hard to really put my thoughts about my favorite game ever to words so easily. Plus, I only want to write about it while I'm in a good mood. So this one may be written over the course of a few days.

I still remember when this game was a huge rumor for what felt like AGES. It was kind of will they wont they between remaking it or just slapping it onto NSO. I'm still, honestly, in a bit of disbelief it got a full from the ground up remake for modern consoles. But, I'm very happy to say, it's here! And it's real! And this game I love and adore so much is back! And that makes me very happy!

Now, I think this is the first remake I'll be talking about on here. And since it's a remake of a game I'm OBSESSED with. I'll probably not go into intense detail about why I love Super Mario RPG. You already know what I like about it (EVERYTHING) and what I dislike about it (NOTHING). Instead, I'll try to focus on what I think made this such a nice remake for a super fan of the game like me!

As always, this isn't a review! Just my thoughts after having beaten it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEEASE play this game yourself if it interests you!!

SPOILERS FOR SUPER MARIO RPG REMAKE!! INCLUDING SPOILERS FROM THE ORIGINAL AND NEW STUFF IN THE REMAKE!!

Opening

So, like I said before. Super Mario RPG is my favorite video game of ALL TIME. Not just RPG, not just Mario game, not just one of my favorites. I'm talking #1 favorite game EVER! I played it waaaaay back in middle school a good long time ago and it really just got to me. There's so much I absolutely adore about this game!

So when the remake was announced, needless to say I was pretty excited. Even if I was... a little apprehensive. Mostly just concerned they may mess it up. Or they may not understand what made the original so magical. It was a big concern because, yknow, the game had been gone for so long with absolutely no attention.

But I'll go ahead and spare you the suspense now: this is an amazing remake. And it not only lived up to, but exceeded my expectations that I had for it. So I'm very excited to finally sing its praises!

Stuff I liked

This is a REALLY faithful remake. Pretty much nothing is lost across the translation with very few exceptions. The remake manages to bring over so much of what made the original so good while updating it in very nice ways. The graphics? AMAZING! I seriously love how cute the game looks, and how it still keeps a similar style to sprites while updating them. Like it's not afraid to respect the original's look (WHICH LOOKS GREAT, BY THE WAY, THE ORIGINAL LOOKS AMAZING TO ME!!!) but knows that it's okay to tune up where it may be needed. Very few characters don't make a particularly great transition over (like, I can count them on my hand). The areas all look WONDERFUL and they manage to keep the same playful energy and don't lose much from the original. Plus, being full 3D really does help with some platforming challenges and the 3D maze puzzle imo. I imagine this will help a LOT of newcomers out.

The updated soundtrack is GREAT!! Some of my favorite songs are seriously redone absolutely AMAZINGLY here. My personal favorites being Fight Against Smithy, Who Likes Transforming and Dreams Through Window Stars. Both of which are done so wonderfully. But, hey, you also have access to the original soundtrack! Which is SUCH a nice touch! But it was genuinely lovely hearing some new takes on songs I thought I may never see again in an official capacity.

Then there's the gameplay, which is fairly similar to the original, yeah. But I think that's still reason to sing its praise! They've brought the combat over really nicely, and despite adding some things to make it easier, the game is still fun and isn't made too easy. Which was a concern I had between them showing when to time action commands as well as having the shock wave effects AND giving you stat boosts when you build up proper action command combos. Despite doing all this, I actually think they managed to balance the game out nicely. Maybe I'm crazy but I do feel like enemy parties are consistently larger and have more health to compensate. So it all works very well. And of course, I'd be beside myself if I didn't bring up my favorite change: THE TEAM ATTACKS! This was such an unneeded change, they didn't have to give this HUGE bit of fanservice, but I'm SO thankful they did!! I ADORE crossover attacks between teammates in RPGs, it's a shamefully underused concept and is one of the reasons I consider Chrono Trigger to still be one of the GOAT RPGs. So to know my favorite game ever would be getting this feature? That was HUGE, and it delivered!! I really loved this and it added a new dynamic to the team composition and made me wanna try out some of the other characters more and not JUST Mario, Geno, Mallow lol.

I'm actually REALLY surprised at how much is left in tact. Sure, some things were changed like small effects, the names, and no Black Jack. But it is a SHOCKINGLY faithful remake all around. Even including stuff like Beetle Mania or the secret menu codes. And polishing stuff up like no missable chests. And all the new stuff they added is WONDERFUL! It's pretty exciting they added in boss rematches as I think that's something a lot more games could benefit from. With the best one obviously being Culex's rematch for so many reasons. But I do think I have to say that the fully animated cutscenes are hands down the absolute BEST addition to the game. Having cool intros to each boss is absolutely DELIGHTFUL, having a nice prerendered scene for each teammate's introduction RULES. But in particular, the way they animate the final cutscene floored me. If you don't know, the scene of the whole team on Vista Hill watching Exor fade away is one of my favorite shots in video game history. I SCREAMED when I saw it got a fully animated cutscene. It was AMAZING! And the credits were so cute with it looking how it did on the SNES. I called it IMMEDIATELY that the graphics would update for the second half lol.

But of course, the best new cutscene. Hands down. Is the finale. This particularly blew me away. The original's ending is one of my favorites, I have extremely fond memories of watching it in Geno cosplay when I was in middle school (I came home from a con and immediately finished it lol) and just cry at the The End screen. So when a cutscene started up here I freaked out. It was SO cute, and having them actually include Bowser and Mallow was such a wonderful touch. It was cute, it was beautiful, it was emotional. And it really capped off the remakes' whole feelings of "wow... it really came back." I don't know how to describe it properly but hopefully you understand what I'm feeling lol.

Stuff I didn't like

Now... I am of course a bit of an obsessive fan over this game. So I had a few complaints about it. MOST OF IT NITPICKS!! Yes. There's not THAT much to complain about. I think some enemies don't look perfect this time around, I think it's really frustrating that they STILL don't let you have all the star pieces when you pause the menu after beating the game despite actually having post game content, and perhaps the worst of all. I HATE that they removed the card suit icons from each character. Does it really matter? Well... No. But it's such an iconic part of the original to me that I can't help but still feel a little burnt that it wasn't included. That's like, crucial Super Mario RPG imagery in my mind.

Also, am I crazy, or does every enemy in this remake put you to sleep? Maybe I'm misremembering but I don't remember having to wake my teammates up this much EVER in the original, but I felt like I was waking them up every other battle this time. Particularly during Valentina which I died to a shocking amount lol.

However, the big real disappointment of this remake to me personally? Is the new post game content. Honestly I would've been fine with maybe just some new cutscenes or something. But when they said it would be boss rematches I was pleasantly excited! And I know I complimented them earlier but can I be honest?? Dude those rematches SUCK. Like, I think I enjoyed one of them. They're all really gimmicky, like Booster's ends super fast and Johnny requires you to play it 100% perfectly. It's just not fun and honestly didn't feel like the most exciting post game content possible. At least to me. Regardless though how they handled Culex and his rematch is PERFECT. Going through the less than stellar rematches is genuinely worth it because I think the Culex rematch is so good. So there is that.

Final Thoughts

BUT, regardless? This was a truly amazing remake. And a genuinely wonderful return to this world that I'd completely given up on ever seeing again. Not to be melodramatic, but I will be. Yeah I had kinda started to give up and not care about this anymore. I had made peace that Mario RPGs were just... over. That's the way it was, Geno isn't gonna be in Smash, this game will never get any new content. It was done. But, to my surprise. I was wrong. And the remake did come. And no matter what happens now. At least this did happen and I got to see these characters again. I think this remake it amazing for ANYONE. If it's your first time, or if you've played the original too many times. You will LOVE this remake and have a great time with it. It feels like it was made by people who not only knew what made the original magical, but loved it and poured all that love in it. There's even more great stuff I could give it props for. I feel like I want to keep talking about every little thing this remake did so nicely. The polish to the psychopath collecting, how good the enemies look, how lovely the maps look. But honestly I would just be here forever. Super Mario RPG is my favorite game of all time and I'm so happy to see so many people get to experience it for the first time now.

===

That's all I got. I feel like I want to say more. But I think that's all I can say right now about this game. But before I go I did want to speak on my thoughts about Mario a little more.

So, I've been a Mario fan my whole life. Super Mario World was my first game ever, and I've been a devoted fan for years since. Mario was my life. I was obsessed with Mario lore and drawing every single Mario thing I possibly could and just gushing about everything I adored about the series. With the RPGs at the heart of it. I LOVED and ADORED the Mario RPGs, they made my life and inspired me so much.

But a while back, something kinda changed. I'm sure you already know, but the Mario RPGs kinda. Died? Like, they were still being made obviously. But the secondary Paper Mario Trilogy, even though I don't HATE them persay, were just not what I wanted and ultimately I don't really like them. Then Paper Jam happened and I personally really disliked it even in spite of having good combat. Then the M&L remakes which are cool but... Still not perfect and clearly troubled. My favorite games and types of games ever. Just... died? Out of nowhere. And then a lot of side series Mario stuff kinda dragged. DK dried up. Wario was kinda becoming eh around Gold. Luigi's Mansion 3 sucked. And even though the main series was still killing it imo. I just fell out of love with Mario. And I honestly kind of felt myself falling out of love with a lot of things at this time.

And originally, this section was gonna end on a pretty bummer note. But a lot has changed since I started writing this. Thousand Year Door got a remake randomly and it's looking amazing. And now Mario & Luigi is suddenly returning with a brand new entry that... LOOKS AMAZING!! And that's not even to mention Mario Rabbids which completely knocked it out of the park with Sparks of Hope. Mario RPGs... are seemingly back?

I've talked about this at length before but I didn't really want to get my hopes up because of remakes. Sure, of course you can still make a good turnbased Mario RPG with good combat and progression if you just redo the good ones. But could Nintendo still do a NEW one with good turnbased Mario RPG combat and progression? NOT UBISOFT!! Not a strategy RPG, a TURNBASED RPG. And well, it looks like with Brothership we may actually get to see. Yeah it all might be riding on M&L's shoulders again. But with everything going on, suddenly it doesn't feel stupid to hope I can enjoy these games again. Mario spinoffs all over seem to be back in action with Peach and Dark Moon HD. DK might come back now that Prime 4 is wrapping up. The Mario Movie rocked imo and the main series games are only looking more hopeful after how good Bowser's Fury was.

I still did want to make a little bit of a sad point in that. I don't think I'm back into the Mario Fanbase at large. I still consider it to be very poisonous as it was a huge reason why I fell out of love with Mario. And I still see that. When this and TTYD got announced my feeds were filled with insanely negative posts about how much everyone hates Mario RPGs and shit (I learned my lesson I'm trying not to read Brothership tweets but I've already had to mute some stuff lol), I still get clowned on for liking some of these games in spaces where I thought liking them was the point, and people still send me Geno hate posts thinking I'll like them because... Well, being a Mario fan seems to mean you have to hate this series and be insanely contrarian and trying to make bait posts to make people upset. I still see it constantly. And it's discouraging. And I don't like seeing it. So I don't know if I really have interest in being a part of the "Mario Fanbase" so to speak. Cause even if I'm crazy and I'm just too sensitive I don't think it's healthy for me to be getting this upset over a series meant to be particularly joyful.

BUT... and I can't believe I'm saying this. Yeah... It's looking good to be a Mario fan again. I may be falling back in love with the series. Again, I'm not entirely impressed with amazing remakes that bring me to tears with the level of quality... I still want something new to prove they can truly do it again. SO I'll be keeping a close eye on Brothership. But again, suddenly it doesn't feel stupid to have hope.

That's all I got. Go out and play your favorite video game of all time!

#2023 #Thoughts

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algernoninwonderland · 1 year ago

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OMFG AERTI FIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (i know nothing about the franchise) im going to be confused but !!!! im so excited to read it :D!!!

Aaaah! I hope you’ll enjoy it! It’s one of these ideas I’ve had for years, before the Remake games were announced, even!

I would say that you need a bit of familiarity with the original game and the Remake game, but fortunately for you, they’re both very good and there are plenty of Let’s Plays for both. I’m going to ramble about all of that for a bit here.

Final Fantasy VII (1997) is kind of an old game now, it’s kind of all over the place, very weird and dated and clunky in a variety of ways, but it’s also still good, a very important game, and it got re-released on basically everything. I’d recommend Dansg08’s walkthrough series here? He’s a completionist but he labels his videos so that it’s easier to just skip the grinding bits. There is some degree of dramatic psychosexual yaoi to FFVII.

Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) and the upcoming FFVII Rebirth (2024) are partly remakes of the original, but also sort of a sequel? It’s a series of games that is very much aware of the legacy of the original and isn’t trying to just have FFVII (1997) with updated graphics. It’s also a kind of meta conversation about the nature of remakes… Kind of what the Rebuild of Evangelion movies are to the original NGE, except if it was good instead of embarrassingly dogshit. FFVII Remake is a phenomenal game. Materwelonz (I just love her stuff!!) has a great FFVIIR Let’s Play series. She hasn’t played the original game, but she’s very good at picking up on details. If you plan on reading my fic and won’t play the game, I’d recommend going up to chapter 8 of FFVIIR. FFVIIR (2020) This is where most of the Aerti stuff is at, and it’s great, these two interact so much! Also, there’s dramatic psychosexual yaoi.

And then you’ve got everything else FFVII, which is varying degrees of “good but unnecessary” to “obvious cash grab dogshit”

Crisis Core is a PSP game that got a recent remaster (as in, same game with updated graphics). It’s a prequel to FFVII (1997). It’s very flawed but I have a lot of fondness for it, there’s one song from the soundtrack that makes me curl up in a ball and cry every time I hear it, it’s physically painful. It’s almost a good game, the FMVs are great, and there’s some excellent dramatic psychosexual yaoi in there, also Gackt is here for some reason. Materwelonz did a good Let’s Play, but I really like the original voice actor for the main character, and unfortunately he got recast for the remaster.

Advent Children is a movie that is kind of a sequel to FFVII (1997) and it’s kind of bad in many ways, it mangles everybody’s characterization to some degree, it looks dated, as do most CGI animated movies of the 2000s… It’s mostly bad but it also has a couple of really iconic scenes that were in so many AMVs back in the mid 2000s to early 2010s. It also has some degree of psychosexual yaoi to it.

Everything else is, imho, not worth engaging it. There’s a third person shooter game for the PS2 that is basically Shadow the Hedgehog and a bunch of mobile games and stories and most of it is stupid and dumb and bad and unnecessary, and most of that barely contains any kind of yaoi whatsoever which makes it instantly worthless.

I guess that is it!

#ffvii #ffviir #final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii remake #final fantasy vii rebirth #crisis core

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terminaxshowtime · 1 year ago

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this is the stupidest question you've ever been asked but how do you analyse music?

aight, well, i don't do anything professionally or anything, all just for fun. usually i focus on the techniques of the music, or certain elements that it has. i was actually taught how to analyze music elements and techniques in class, mainly with identifying structure, rhythms, melody (eg. intervals), harmony/tonality (eg. cadences), and timbre. if i'm just analyzing music for fun, sometimes i'll pick it up by ear and be like 'oh, that's __ cadence, this is fitting for the song because it creates __ effect' or something along those lines. some of them are pretty obvious- like with rhythms, or repetition. for the ones i'm super interested and have to go in-depth to, usually i'll head over to, say, Musescore, search up the sheet music, and try to figure out some of the cadences and intervals myself. if i really want to go deep, i can check out these and associate them with other common uses of the sequences or whatnot, and just kinda make my own personal conclusions as to what the composer was trying to do when they made this. it's always about the messages they're trying to send and whatnot, or sometimes the message is just 'have fun!!!' or keeping the listeners not bored out of their mind.

for analysing music as part of, say, a soundtrack (in my opinion, the best to analyse) i'll focus a bit more on the actual compositional devices. mainly leitmotifs and instrumentation (similar to timbre), because those features can help you understand the story and character of the song. with these, i kind of just pick them up even the first time that i hear it. like, if i recognise a certain pattern, i usually associate it pretty quickly, then i narrow it down to some kinda reason as to why the composer might have done this. it's all connected!!

and if the song i'm analysing has lyrics (rare) i just use the typical English writing analysing techniques on it. with the exception of where certain words would be emphasised through certain chords or cadences in the harmony giving it a different meaning, or as an ornament, in which case i could pack the lyrics together with the musical elements and then analyse it further. so that's a cool thing that i like doing.

i also find that the more diverse a piece, the more interesting and fun it is to analyze, and to an extent, listen to. i think my favourite thing to listen to and analyze would be things with contrast, a lot of range, just something that makes it sound super captivating. which i often find video game ost to have. i highly recommend ost from Kirby games personally ;)

oh, and the stuff i WASN'T taught. okay, so I actually use DAWs and make music myself. i don't post it because i'm self conscious and don't think it's THAT good, but it's probably fine. it's mainly through my own experience through using DAWs that I can figure out what kind of techniques the composers are using for songwriting, mainly through mixing and audio effects- the classic reverb, overdrives, EQs, panning- all my knowledge and ability to judge these comes from my OWN personal experiences with making music and therefore being able to recognise the techniques when i listen. then i can figure out the effect that this technique has and analyse the song and all. so that's the part that was SELF-taught from myself, really.

but anyway. if that didn't answer your question, whoops. i was mainly taught to do a specific type of analysing, and yeah i can analyse it outside of just these techniques- vibes work just fine- but it's kind of hard to explain. 90% of it comes from having knowledge of what the features and effects are, plus my own personal experiences help. i think after you can recognise and NAME the features and techniques, then it's much easier to figure out what the composer was thinking when they made it (ie analyse it.)

erm i rambled way too much. wow. hope this helped???

#it probably didn't WHOOPS #termina rambles #hey i should probably post my music i did for my exams. maybe one day. someone remind me

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fluffy-critter · 6 months ago

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#crosspost #busybee

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sheltershock · 2 years ago

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When I was younger I didn’t really understand like “band loyalty” with music tastes, when you listen to one artist’s stuff. I kinda get it now. A musician makes a piece you like, so you seek out other pieces because you’ll like those too. I get that now. Because I like specific YouTubers, and I’ve always been like that. But that’s audio and visual. Music is just audio. It’s just lyrics with a musical backdrop.

Music gives you this unique experience you get when you read poetry, except you have accompanying instrumentals to set the mood and tone. To me, music is just poetry. And you don’t get pictures with poetry, you have to make the pictures in your head. The same is true with music. You hear words to a story, feel the emotions and progression, and you experience that music with a little piece of yourself. That’s what art does it’s a communication from the artist to the audience. Music is just like a medium for storytelling.

But I also think music is like a prompt generator. Art is created out of this universal experience of being alive. So all art will inspire or spark something within you that you can resonate with. The stories music tells are all self contained, but they can inspire new ones based on your own interests and experiences. Oftentimes the music I listen to either a. Has a good story b. Resonates on some level(aka I like how it sounds) or c. Correlates in some way to a story or character I already have in my head. So just because some musician that made a song I liked made another one that doesn’t mean I’d personally like it.

But I’ve seen people be like “man, I’m a huge fan of X band.” And I don’t really get it. Which also makes it hard to say what I like. I guess I could say I like listening to game soundtracks, EDM and rock, but being suggested something in that category doesn’t mean I’d like it. But I often hear stuff like “oh if you like X, then you gotta check out Y!” But the idea of purposefully seeking out new music specifically is strange to me. It kinda just accumulates for me. I come across a song in a video, or in a store, or in a game or show, listen to it on loop for about a hundred times, put it in my playlist and move on. The idea of listening to an artist to see if you like something just sounds exhausting and time consuming. There’s music everywhere, just listen while you’re about your day and you’ll find some new music eventually.

Something in particular about “band loyalty” I especially don’t like is when people claim that they were fans of a band before they were popular. Like in the comment section of a lyric/music video of a popular sound bite, and be like “if you were here before TikTok then you have good tastes.” What is deal with this pointless gatekeeping? Shouldn’t you be happy that your band/musician is getting attention? Why does it matter if I discovered this sound off of an fan edit or a sound bite or an animatic?

It reminds me of the other day I was playing some music in the car with my mom and she asked “where did you hear this?” I was just shocked by the question itself. What do you mean where? There music literally everywhere. In stores, in restaurants, on radio, in movies, in media in general. Hell, just walk into the middle of an open field and there will be sound. Asking how I accumulate music is like asking me where I like to pick up the air I like to breathe. Like, it’s everywhere??? The answer to the question was the radio at the store I work at, but I don’t really see how that mattered. If I told you I first heard it at restaurant would your enjoyment decrease? Why does it matter if I heard it from a TikTok trend?

I dunno if this a common experience or not, since I don’t hear people talk about this. I’ve never been particularly attached to “mainstream media” so yeah. I’m writing this in case someone does experience music in a similar way so maybe they can feel a little bit more seen. And if you do: hello! I guess we can know that we vibe together!

#music #songs #poetry #are those okay to tag? They seem pretty general #for anyone saying “what about music videos” I don’t particularly like those since it has the “official/final visual interpretation” feeling #i think some music videos are good but I don’t think just dancing to the lyrics adds to the musical experience #it’s a song. People dance to songs. What new thing is being added?#I just had some thoughts about music tonight #shelti rambles

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f-ngrl · 2 years ago

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Music updates from the last week from my phone bc why not. Only skipping through.

- lil thunder - demon girl. 2 songs. It’s more hiphop again. I really like him (4th most listened artist or so in 2022), but this one isn’t as good as his other music so far and i feel meh about promotion of drugs so. Still it’s alright.

- j;key - romantico lp. 13 songs. It has some songs from romantico pt 1 and 2 - some i like, some not that exciting. Still he does all the work himself and it’s solid. He definitely works hard and i appreciate and respect him as an artist, typical underrated artist.

- szn - r&b szn mixtape. 11 songs. He’s an r&b singer under dok2’s label. I’m not really into r&b BUT i respect that he actually makes “traditional” r&b while everybody else (except dut2) calls themselves r&b when they make pop music. And some of the beats (love my job, go up!!) i like so much that i just like it. Also you can hear oceanfromtheblue rap if you’re interested :D

- errday jinju - home alone. 1 song. He’s such an experimental indie artist that he also goes unnoticed underratedly. Much more on the art side than on the entertainment side. Prod fredi casso.

- Goopy - come with me. 1 song. His regular indie pop rock. Too soft and ballad-y for me. Maybe you need to be in the mood for it.

- ap alchemy - freaky. 1 song. Idk it would be much more rounded if you didn’t just throw tons of random artists at one thing, like what do you expect. I do appreciate this new motivation of swings’, the whole project makes me happy. Maybe it’s supposed to be like a cypher? But not the kind of a song you’d listen to repeatedly for me.

- code kunst - archive 01. 2 songs. Pre-release for his next full album. Idk it’s too quiet and a bit always the same style from him. But i’m sure it’s the right thing for many ppl.

- m3chvnic - darktemplar. 7 songs. Read my (tired but my condition is the same today) love confession here.

- chanmina - you just walked in my life. 1 song. It’s japanese again (neutral) and pop (not my mood).

- jayci yucca, dnss - love and the city. 6 songs. I will listen on a rainy sunday, now’s not the right mood :D

- cika - options (feat. Hollow young). 1 song. The beat is more pop but his rap still fire so it’s nice. Hollow young’s part is too rnb for me.

- takayan - love doesn’t have rules. 1 song. Well he drops songs all the time, all ranges of good and less good. I can’t stand the retro video game beat but hey i don’t get queer support songs on my spotify news every day. Or week. Or month. Takayan good guy <3 :D

- bigone - hope (feat. Han yo han). 1 song. Idk what to do with his music i just. Don’t really like pop punk. I liked having it in khh when it was “new” for nostalgia but nowadays i don’t really need it usually...

- paloalto - crime scene. 1 song. It’s a drama soundtrack but written by palo and yosi. Good for a soundtrack song actually!

Haha this is so negative go listen to m3chvnic if you haven’t and have a good weekend :)

#khh #khiphop #k-indie #k-rock #new releases

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curious-minx · 4 years ago

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Notable 2020 Video Game Soundtracks That Can Be Enjoyed As Standalone Experiences

Video Game Music is gaining recognition, with many soundtracks receiving vinyl pressings, orchestral concert reviews, and an increasing presence on music streaming platforms such as bandcamp and Spotify. We’re also witnessing the uprise of indie video game development teams where games are being made by the sort of passionate type of game designer that takes soundtracks seriously. Soundtracks by small teams of developers such as Celeste, Undertale, Disco Elysium, Hollow Knight, RuneScape, and Lisa: The Joyful are titles with soundtracks that easily stand up against the likes of bigger budget productions made by reliable sources of video game music like Square-Enix and Nintendo.

2020 is no exception in terms of having one of the biggest budget soundtracks around with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which builds upon a legacy of industry-standard-creating soundtrack work. Taken as a whole, Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s soundtrack is clocking in at over 8 and half hours of music. The soundtrack has three composers with the Beethoven of video game music, Nobuo Uematsu, most notably coming out of retirement to get the job done. Here are some other amazing 2020 video game soundtracks more conducive for standalone background listening:

TETRIS EFFECT by HYDELIC

Genres: EDM, Ambient Pop and straight up Ambient

Describing this album makes me feel like I’m some sort of burnt out fanciful raver, head permanently lodged in the clouds. The level of giddy technicolor enthusiasm rivals that of Icelandic Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi, but if he wanted to keep his post-rock firmly planted in the outdoor music festival on Mars territory. Despite the album’s notable two hours runtime, each and every song feels like its own uniquely crafted composition, no repetitive motifs or nostalgia-baiting.

There is unfortunately still a Tetris movie in some sort of shaggy state of development in Hollywood right now. The movie is being billed as a dull biopic about the creator of the Tetris game. Whereas listening to Tetris Effect you imagine a Tetris movie directed by someone more fitting like the Wakowskis. Tetris Effect’s opening song “Connected (Yours Forever)” is a bonafide vocal pop song, like a more sugary CVRCHES-style cooing of the lyrics:

“I’m Yours Forever

There is No End in Sights For Us,

Nothing Can Measure the Kind of Strength Inside Our Hearts,

It’s all connected we’re all together in this life, don’t you forget it

We’re all connected in this”

Try your best not to imagine a cast of Hollywood’s most beautiful plucky orphan mutant misfit youths using the power of Tetris to heal a broken and dying planet!

Notable Track: Next Chapter

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HADES by DARREN KORB

Genres: Progressive Metal, Folktronica, Folk Metal, Dimotika, Greek Folk Music

Darren Korb has become one of the most notable video game composers of the past decade. Korb, an integral member of the Supergiant family, continues to outdo himself with each and every soundtrack. Bastion and Transistor originally found Korb creating a niche for himself with downtempo folk-infused electronic soundscapes and even some vocal pop with collaborator Ashley Barrett. Hades is an altogether different beast for Korb, who much like the developers of Hades, have found themselves at the height of their powers.

Korb also contributes vocals on this album, and I can say without hesitation that these are some of the nicest vocals I’ve ever heard from a video game music designer, because video game musicians are bonafide musicians.The album clocks in at two and half hours and separate from its game is still an absolute thrill ride.

Notable Track: In The Blood

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DEFECTIVE HOLIDAY by MECHATOK

Genres: Ambient Trance, Balearic Beat, Progressive Electronic, Nature Recordings, Spoken Word, New Age

One glance at the album artwork is all it took for me to know that I must listen to this album. Defective Holiday is an indie walking simulator that is explicit about its intentions: a lightly interactive one hour experience. This soundtrack clocks in at only 31 minutes and it is purely the most conventional album in terms of length.

Last week in late November, Mechatok announced a collaboration with one of the leading zoomer Swedish cloud rap mavericks Bladee, the cofounder of the Drain Gang. Last month gives a pretty clear picture of what kind of circles Mechatok is floating in on. Highly online gonzo vaporwave maestro James Ferraro is another apparent influence on this soundtrack, especially regarding the way the sinister mundane dialogue is woven into the soundscape. There’s one particular track on the Defective Holiday OST, “Rescue Shot Buibo”, that is adorned with standard trap-style drum fills that give the album a shot of energy before wandering back off into the haze. This soundtrack and video game is all about the pure vibe and aesthetic nature that are currently trending in these extremely stressful times. In a time where all of our holidays were defective from the very start, I think the casual walking simulator will remain a genre high in demand. I have a feeling we’re going to hear a lot more from this empathetic young German.

Notable Track: Valley

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Last of Us II by Gustavo Santaolalla, Mac Quayle (and Ashley Johnson)

Genres: Ambient, Cinematic Classical, Dark Ambient, Spanish Folk Music

The Last Of Us is a horror game where the music itself is arguably playing a critical character role, which can only be expected billing two titans of audio visual soundtracks. Of course Academy Award winner Santaolalla knows his way around a soundtrack. Wielding a resume of astonishing versatility in various TV and film projects, he might have found his higher calling in not only video games but in the horror music canon. Last of Us is an extremely emotional series, and with the wrong soundtrack, the experience could become insufferably bleak. The occasional splashes of color and light are what make this soundtrack so unsettling and eerie. Not since Silent Hill 2’s Akira Yamaoka has there been such an effective standalone horror video game soundtrack experience. No wonder Gustavo Santaolalla is one of the only video game composers integral enough to the game to warrant a cameo banjo-playing character model based off of him.

As if having one major composer from prestigious TV and movies wasn’t enough, Mac Quayle, composer of the whole Mr. Robot series, contrasts against Santaolalla’s acoustic contributions. The soundtrack itself is sequenced in a way that switches between the two composers. “The Cycle of Violence” composed by Quayle, a track that more than lives up to its name, is immediately followed by Santaolalla’s somber “Reclaimed Memories.” This dance between violence and heart is what the Last of Us excels at as a franchise, and that is why this soundtrack is an effective stand-alone experience.

The only disappointing part of the soundtrack is that Ashley Johnson, voice actor of Ellie’ three songs, is not included in the game’s official tracklist. Ellie’s “Take On Me” a-ha and “Future Days” Pearl Jam covers have made a little history by being the most powerful songs sung by a video game character. When Ellie sings and plays on her guitar they aren’t some little Easter egg idling moments to provide levity for this heavy revenge horror story. These songs are used to make some of the strongest character development choices made by a video game character seen in recent years. Ellie is joining a small club of singing video game characters alongside Parapa the Rapper and maybe the cast of obscure Atlus title Rhapsody: Musical Adventure.

Notable Track: Unbroken

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Persona 5 Royal Straight Flush Edition by Shoji Meguro

Genre: Acid Jazz, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal, Lounge, Jazz-Funk

This is one of those soundtracks that, much like Nobuo Uematsu’s work in Final Fantasy, is really the heart and soul of the entire Persona franchise (and his work in the adjacent Shin Megami Tensei universe is equally as noteworthy). Persona 5 Royal finds Meguro making his most complete, funky, and otherworldly opus that sounds like no one else in the biz.

You will find many people online scouring message boards, subreddits, bandcamp features, and Yahoo Answers looking for more music like Persona 5. Outside of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, how many other games are packed to the brim with truly foxy songs!? Persona 5 could not predict how badly the title “Throw Away Your Mask” would age, despite the game being more than ahead of its time with the majority of NPCs wearing PPE. Be a good Joker, put on your mask and keep chasing Meguro’s acid jazz-infused dragon through many more semesters to come.

Notable Track: I Imagine

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Streets of Rage 4 by Olivier Deriviere & Various

Genres: Electro House, Nu Jazz, Synth Funk, Acid House

Composer Olivier Deriviere is a living definition of a video game soundtrack journeyman. He has a career stretching back to the early 2000s working on notable big budget titles like the divisive 2008 Atari fifth Alone in the Dark installment and Remember Me, an unsung buried gem from the PS3/360 era Capcom title. Remember Me is where Deriviere’s electronic leanings started becoming especially prominent in his sound. On the Streets of Rage 4 soundtrack Deriviere has completely come into his own element, developing a whole new sense of campy playfulness.

Electronic French House music can be a divisive genre. For every Daft Punk commercial success there is a band that ruffles feathers like Justice. I sense a strong presence of late departed French House titan Philippe Zdar of Cassius as well. If you’d played this soundtrack for me out of context, I would have guessed an obscure voguing tape from the 80s or a really talented mysterious DJ set. Instead, this is a sequel to a classic beat em up franchise that left a portion of players disappointed by the game’s four hour playtime. The soundtrack is over an hour and fifty minutes long of high octane House music bliss. Much like the Tetris Effect soundtrack, it is truly impressive how much depth these tracks have when they could have easily been nostalgic recycled beats. Sometimes a game’s soundtrack can offer more post game enjoyment than an actual game.

Notable Track: Chill Or Don’t

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Hylics 2 by Chuck Salamone & Mason Lindroth

Genres: Experimental Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Hypagogic Pop, Stoner Rock, Jazz-Rock

A soundtrack that comes closest to capturing the experience of hearing the Earthbound or Katamari Damacy soundtracks for the first time. The Hylic indie RPG series is a wonderful and strange beast that is ready to frolic and show its playful side. Hylics is a part of a recent uprising of indie games being developed on the RPG Maker software. 2020 year has left us all with variations of the same stressed out adjectives: Weird. Messed Up. Surreal.

Why not listen to an album from a game that is the perfect embodiment of that surreal mantra? Step away from your computer, draw a bath, and put this album on. Thank me later!

Notable track: Xeno Arcadia

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Ultrakill: Infinite Hyperdeath (Act I Soundtrack) by Heaven Pierce Her aka game developer Arsi “Hakita” Patala

Genres: Drum and Bass, Industrial Metal, Ambient, Progressive Metal, Acidcore

Nothing says “modern indie game development” more than a game built completely from the ground up by one person. Ultrakill’s developer “Hakita” is one of those kindly folkloric DIY figures that make video games such an extensive art form. The game is a painstaking gloriously bloody ode to Dooms of yesteryear but with plenty of its own fine tuned style. The perfect soundtrack for when you’re painting your personal Hell a darker shade of gore, but also would really like to kick your ass into shape if you need an adrenaline boost to your Quarantine blues.

Notable Track: Panic Betrayer

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Risk of Rain 2 by Chris Christodoulou

Genres: Progressive Rock, Space Rock, Space Ambient, Post-Rock

Something about the country of Greece brings the best kind of futurism out of the country’s composers. Christodoulou’s Risk of Rain 2 soundtrack is no Bladerunner knock off. This soundtrack for the colorful sci-fi indie rougelike is punchier and less nocturnal than your typical synth-heavy sci-fi soundtrack. Risk of Rain is one of the more successful Kickstarter series around and has the best quality an indie game can have: it feels like a labor of love on all fronts. There’s no reason a rougelike like Rain of Ruin or Hades needs a soundtrack this good, but Christodoulou casts a spell with his electronic-driven prog rock that makes you want to keep respawning. A huge missed opportunity if Christodoulou does not get to soundtrack an earnest sci-fi action-adventure for even big screens. Oh! This soundtrack also features some spoken word segments from Werner Herzog; what more do you need to know?

Notable Track: The Rain Formerly Known As Purple

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Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus by Guillaume David

A big debut project from an up-and-coming composer Guillaume David. Prior to the making of this soundtrack, David was a video game voice actor who worked on a Resident Evil Devil May Cry crossover voicing the character of “Hunk.” Warhammer 40K might become a franchise that more people will care about solely based on the quality of this installment’s soundtrack. When you see the title Warhammer 40,000, what sort of sounds come to mind? If you guessed “Neo gothic cyber Gregorian chants that seamlessly melds the ancient and futuristic”, you would be correct. A turn-based action game could possibly fall into dull territory, but with a visual identity as strong as Warhammer 40K melded with a suitable musical atmosphere, the action and world becomes irresistible. This soundtrack is a brisk 56 minutes and the other soundtrack on this list with a more conventional runtime. Not a second is wasted on this dynamic and fantastical soundtrack. Prior to hearing this soundtrack I had no intention of ever looking into playing a game based off of something as convoluted as Warhammer 40K, but now I very much want to know what these robot priests are about. That’s the magic of a quality soundtrack.

Notable track: Millenial Rage

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Honorable Mentions:

Happy Listening!

#Video Games #Video Game Music #Soundtracks #Top 10 #Video Games 2020 #Final Fantasy 7 #Persona 5 #Streets of Rage #Hylic #Utrakill #Risk of Rain #indie games #Square Enix #Warhammer 40k #last of us #Last of us 2

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spikebhm · 3 years ago

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To answer your question regarding cartoons. Oh that's me 100% haha and even music from video games too, one of my favourites are certain resident evil save room themes, especially 0 and 1 (the 2002 remake one though.) As well as the music Gerudo Valley and Zelda's Lullaby from The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

This anon has some impressive taste!

I remember the Ocarina of Time soundtrack very well! I never played that game when it was released but later on played the Nintendo DS version and it was a blast for sure!

If I could add some good soundtracks to your list you could give a listen to, if you enjoy something like that:

I currently listen to :

BPM has an amazing soundtrack for what is a very simple but enjoyable first person rogue like shooter! You should check out the game itself or watch someone play it, it's loads of fun!

Monster Hunter is my #1 game franchise! I've been playing it since it was released for the PSP and I have yet played every single iteration of it available on any system except the MMO pc games which were not released to the west. It has so many good bits to listen to, sometimes I get very emotional when I hear "Proof a Hero" !!

Something a bit more recent, this is the dual alternative Album for Octopath traveler! The original album has a lot of amazing and characterful songs you could give a listen to but I really enjoy this specific arrangement!

This specific album is a sleeper hit I think, it has a lot of amazing and memorable tracks as well as some amazing pieces hidden. I have written a lot of stories just listening to the songs from that playlist, they are very inspirational and I always manage to give it a listen every once in a while when I work on some of my personal stuff!

Thank you for indulging me, anon!

#Ask Spike #Nerding out with some really good soundtracks #they inspire greatness in me

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t0-th3-3nd · 4 years ago

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what kind of music the zls characters listen to

Sakura

-she has a pop playlist that she shares with Ai full of music from when they were alive that they collab on and it’s like 15 hours long

-sis 100% listens to taylor swift and you cannot convince me otherwise

-basically anything she hears on the radio, she dgaf who the artist is as long as it makes dopamine go brrr

-she a lil basic but that’s okay :)

-also she probably loves video game soundtracks just cuz they’re calming

Saki

-really anything as long as it sounds like Bad Bitch music that she can scream to

-all i can say is CORPSE

-she’d be OBSESSED with him

-also she listens to the holy emo trinity

-probably has their entire discographies memorized too smh

-she and tae have a screamo playlist together and they like to S C R E A M

-she and Sakura share a playlist full of pop from the early 2000s but she doesn’t use it nearly as much as Sakura does

-listened to mcr back in the good old days of mcr and went to a few of their concerts

-an og miku stan

-her music taste is pretty much all over the place but it’s all usually from the time she was alive

-she doesn’t really like newer music a lot but she has exceptions for anything scenecore because once again, scene ai is the best head canon and i will die on that hill

Junko

-pianos

-basically just classical music and really calm stuff

-she found mxmtoon and loves mxmtoon now

-she only has two playlists and one’s just mxmtoon and other really calming stuff and the other is Pianos

-not an avid music listener, she really only listens to yugiri play the shamisen bc yunko

Lily

-she mostly just listens to ariana grande and taylor swift n stuff like that

-she and Sakura definitely go to taylor swift concerts together

-but aside from that???

-baby shark. she literally has a playlist of nothing but baby shark

-she probably has a whole playlist of songs she found from gacha life music videos and honestly so did i back in The Days

Yugiri

-she doesn’t really get the concept of technology but she tries her best

-she has no playlists she just follows junko to listen to her playlists bc she can’t figure out how to make playlists poor bb

-but someone (probably lily) definitely showed her some shamisen tutorial videos on youtube and now she spends hours practicing junko’s favorite songs

-also she likes video game soundtracks and follows Sakura’s video game music playlist

Tae

-death metal

-need i say more?

-she loves to SCREAM to the music

-and also she likes crab rave bc it make brain go brrr :)

-anything with a weird beat and lots of loudness is her vibeeee

Kotaro

-he has no time for music

-except for Franchouchou’s discography

-he has all their songs on spotify and it’s literally the only thing he listens to so he can get the money you make from spotify lmao

#zombieland saga #zls #anime #sakura minamoto #saki nikaido #ai mizuno #junko konno #lily hoshikawa #yugiri #tae yamada #kotaro tatsumi #headcanons

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creepercraftguy · 4 years ago

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I decided I wanted to try one of those DR Ask meme’s, but I decided to do it a little differently and I’m just gonna answer all the questions.

This one is made by @muzumi-san but I didn’t repost theirs because I don’t want them to directly see my shitty opinions.

1. Favourite game?

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. It just had the best characters, best plot twists and best trials in my opinion.

2. Favourite Protagonist?

It depends. If it’s in terms of writing, Shuichi. Otherwise, it’s either Hajime, or Kaede.

3. Favourite antagonistic character?

Kokichi is my favorite in general of the three, but as an antagonist, I like Nagito more.

4. Favourite character?

Kokichi Ouma. I know, he’s a fan favorite and you’re probably sick of hearing him get talked about, but dude, he’s just great.

5. Best girl?

Mahiru Koizumi.

6. Best boy?

Gonta Gokuhara or Gundham Tanaka.

7. Favourite class trial from all the games?

For Game 1, it’s Case 2. I love the twists and use of the Red Herring aspect in regards to the locker room. For Game 2, Case 4 is my favourite, but Case 5 is the better one in terms of mystery. For Game 3, Case 4. The fact you have to rely on video game logic to solve the case is really neat.

8. Least favourite character?

Without a doubt, Yasuhiro Hagakure, for several reasons that I’ve stated previously.

9. Least favourite class trial?

Game 3, Case 3. That whole case was just bullshit after Bullshit.

10. What would be your Ultimate Title?

Ultimate Animator, like Mitarai, but you know...Better.

11. Favourite cast?

As I’ve already mentioned, Danganronpa 2. My least favorite member of that cast is Akane, but even her, and the more disliked characters like Teruteru and Hiyoko, I love all of them. They’re all great.

12. Favourite Danganronpa 3 character?

Seiko Kimura. She’s such a fun character who I think deserved better.

13. What’s your opinion on the Danganronpa 3 anime?

I fucking hate it. The only episodes of it that I actually consider to be good, are the first two episodes of Despair Arc, and the final episode. The characters and cast genuinely piss me off half the time, especially Juzo, Munakata and Ruruka, and the writing was just generally shit throughout the entire thing.

14. What do you think about Danganonpa 1 anime?

I actually think it’s alright. Video Game anime’s tend to not be as good as the games (unless it’s Persona 4′s animation, which was actually awesome) and the same goes for Danganronpa. The game is generally more enjoyable than the anime, but the anime wasn’t bad all things considered.

15. Your absolute OTP?

SAI-MAT-SU! SAI-MAT-SU! SHIP-THAT-GETS-SHIT-ON-TOO-MUCH! SAI-MAT-SU! SAI-MAT-SU!

16. Your absolute BROTP?

I guess Sakuraoi? I get why people ship them, but Sakura is one of the characters who canonically has a boyfriend, and I just think they make really good friends other than girlfriends. No disrespect for anyone who likes them together though.

17. Do you have an OT3? Which one?

I’m not crazy about my OT3′s, since they’re mostly two characters who are romantically involved, with a third wheel/wingman on the side, but yes, I do have at least one for each game. For the first game, it’s Chishimondo (Taka, Mondo and Chihiro) for the second game it’s Sonsoudam (Sonia, Gundham and Kazuichi) and the third game, it’s Tenhimiangie (Tenko, Himiko and Angie)

18. Favourite rare ship?

There’s a ship I like called Nagiseiko or Komamura, which is Nagito Komaeda x Seiko Kimura.

19. Who do you think is an underrated character?

There are quite a few, like Nekomaru and Mahiru for instance, but I absolutely have to say Mondo. He has arguably some of the best characterization among the DR1 cast, and he’s my favorite killer in the first game purely because of his backstory and motive, and how he reflects upon the second case’s whole theme, and yet nobody seemed to focus on that importance. God Speed, you wonderful JoJo reference.

20. Who do you think is an overrated character?

Please don’t hurt me when I say this, but absolutely Chiaki. Many can chew me out for liking Kokichi, who in himself is overrated, but for a deuteragonist, Chiaki really doesn’t do an awful lot until Chapter 4-5

21. Favourite voice actor?

In terms of performance, either Derek Stephen Prince (Fuyuhiko and Kokichi) or Marieve Herington (Celeste)

22. Favourite talent?

Ultimate Detective. Shuichi and Kyoko are both really cool.

23. Favourite mascot?

Monokuma, duh! Compared to Monomi and the Monokubs, neither of them have shit on him.

24. Favourite Monokub?

1000% Monodam. All of them suck, except for him. (And Monotaro’s fine for the most part, but Monodam will always be the best)

25. Least favourite mascot?

Mono-fucking-phanie.

26. Favourite execution?

Leon Kuwata’s, the 1000 Blows. As they say, you never forget your first.

27. Least favourite execution?

Mikan Tsumiki’s, Bye Bye Ouchies. For reasons I don’t think I even need to state.

28. Favourite unused execution?

I really like Kazuichi’s unused execution that involves the drill.

29. Which character should survived in your opinion?

If we’re talking characters I wanted to survive, then I would’ve loved to see Chihiro make it to the end of DR1. As much as I love the importance of his passing, I really wanted him to get out alive and unscathed.

30. Which character would’ve deserved to survive?

In each game, there’s at least one character I think should’ve deserved to make it out alive. For the first game, it’s absolutely Taka, for the second, Hiyoko, even though I’m not strong on her, and for the third game, Ryoma, for the same reason everyone else thinks he should’ve lived.

31. Is there a character you think who shouldn’t have survived but did?

Yasuhiro did basically nothing to contribute to the class trials, or the overall progress in figuring out the mysteries of the academy. He never pulled his weight, and for some reason, he still managed to live through the killing game.

32. Least favourite protagonist?

I love her, but Komaru. She just doesn’t reach the same level as the others.

33. Character with the best clothing?

Celeste absolutely nails the gothic lolita style and it fits really well with the type of character that she is.

34. Best character design?

Gundham and Celeste.

35. A character who should’ve got more character development?

Kirumi, without question. She’s arguably my least favorite in the V3 gang purely because of her lack of development. She deserved better writing than what she got.

36. Character who looks amazing but you don’t like?

I love Ruruka’s design, but I hate Ruruka’s character. The same goes for Sonosuke Izayoi, who looks badass but got no development.

37. Favourite minor character?

For the little screen time he got, I vibe with Taichi Fujisaki.

38. Favourite eyes?

What? Uh...no preference?

39. Smartest murder plan?

Gundham’s plan in the 4th case of the 2nd game. He used pretty much every aspect of the funhouse to pull his plan off, and I love it.

40. Favourite culprit?

Gundham Tanaka, for what I’ve just mentioned, plus his motivation, and overall character.

41. Person you’ve never expected to become a culprit but they became? (Doesn’t include Chiaki)

I guess Mondo, Peko and Kiyo from each of the games. They all exude the energy that they COULD kill someone, but the chances of them actually doing it don’t seem that high, and yet...

42. Honest opinion on Tsumugi Shirogane?

I thought she was boring character at first, even after she was revealed to be the mastermind, but I’ve come around since then and I respect her as a villain a lot more. Being the only villain in the game who’s not directly tied to Junko, that at least gives her a bit of uniqueness.

43. Describe Monaca Towa in 3 words!

Piss Baby UGH!

44. Describe Nagito Komaeda in 3 words!

Extremely Entertaining Character

45. Unpopular opinion?

I think Hifumi Yamada is a pretty decent character overall. His Free Time Events, while awkward, were quite enjoyable, and he conveys the strong message that appearances aren’t everything. He’s aware of how different he looks compared to everyone else, but to him, it’s what’s on the inside and what he can do that matters.

46. Unpopular headcanon?

I don’t really have many major headcanons, and I have none that I would consider unpopular. I guess I’ll say “The V3 cast have a group chat in a Non-Despair AU that they meme the shit out of.”

47. A headcanon you have about a character?

In the ask blog that I run, Mikan and Ibuki are an item, and after they become one, Mikan discards her bandages and dyes a highlight in her hair. I live for that, so I guess that’s my answer.

48. Favourite OST?

If we’re talking about a game soundtrack, then either Danganronpa 2′s, or Ultra Despair Girl. If we’re talking about my favourite song in the whole series though, then my favourite is the opening theme to Future Arc in DR3, Dead or Lie.

49. Favourite mini game?

I don’t really have one. I have minigames that I like, and Minigames that I hate (looking at you “Improved” Hangman’s Gambit) But I guess I like Scrum Debate in concept a lot.

50. Favourite game design?

V3 is the most aesthetically pleasing DR game.

51. Character you thought you were gonna dislike but loved in the end?

Maki was such a piece of shit in my opinion at the beginning of V3. Of course, the development she gets reprimands that amazingly. I WOULD say Tenko, but I hated Tenko when I finished V3, and it was only after a short time later that I really turned around on her.

52. Character you thought you would like but disliked in the end?

I guess Angie? She was pretty annoying even before I outright disliked her, but then the whole third chapter brainwashing thing happened and I’m like, “this bitch suck for real!”

53. Favourite game end?

Danganronpa 2′s, and I don’t wanna hear all the “Ugh, the anime bullshit, ugh!” From a writing perspective, the second game just had the most enjoyable ending.

54. Least favourite game end?

I guess Danganronpa 1′s but even that wasn’t too bad. I have incredibly mixed feelings about V3′s twist ending, but I’ve grown to accept that it happened and there’s not a lot I can do about it...

55. Favourite love hotel scene?

Kaede’s. J-Just Kaede’s...That scene gives me the right amount of serotonin that I can keep going with my day.

56. Best free time events?

Hard to say, but I really liked Taka’s. Most of the FTE’s in Danganronpa tend to be pretty nice (unless you’re Hiro), but for him, I loved learning about the circumstances behind his family, how it corrolates with why he acts the way he does, his spite against people who call themselves “geniuses” and why they suck, and everything about his character just hits right.

57. Character who should’ve lived longer?

Kirumi or Ryoma.

58. V3 Pregame! headcanon?

“They aren’t evil creatures with a pessimistic look on life!” Seriously, why the hell do people headcanon the pre-game V3 cast as evil and masochistic bastards. Sure, their look on life was very cynical and pessimistic, and some of them wanted to join V3 for the money or the fame, but that’s just basic human nature and desire. That doesn’t mean everyone in V3 was an inherently bad person before they joined Danganronpa. They aren’t the remnants of despair for fucks sake.

59. Favourite moment?

Shuichi’s final stand in V3 really showed his growth in character, and his refutation “WE’RE GONNA END DANGANRONPA!” gave me goosebumps.

60. Saddest moment?

Gundham’s Execution made me cry, and I almost shed tears in Peko’s final moments. My answer therefore, is those two.

61. Character who looks like the love child of ???

Shuichi has always looked like the love child of Makoto and Kyoko or Makoto and Mukuro. I don’t have any parental headcanons though, and prefer to think of Shuichi as his own character.

62. Describe Mikan Tsumiki in 3 words!

Needs Love Mending! She’s an emotionally broken girl who needs love to heal her fragile heart.

63. Describe Kyoko Kirigiri in 3 words!

The Best Deuteragonist. By that, I mean out of all the characters who are most relevant to the plot alongside the protagonist and antagonist (which includes Chiaki and I guess Kaito too) Kyoko is the best one in my opinion.

64. Which character seemed like they were gonna be a culprit but they wasn’t?

I honestly expected Sonia to kill someone several times in DR2, but she ended up making it to the end. I’m not disappointed though, and I’m glad she never ended up snapping.

65. Who did you never expected to die but they died?

Kaede, no doubt about it. C’mon, she was set up to be the protagonist and then she got executed falsely. Rantaro also surprised me honestly, as did Fake Togami in Game 2.

66. Describe the last trial from V3 in 3 words!

An Absolute Clusterfuck. Not the bad kind, mind you, but Jesus, that trial was long and confusing.

67. Which character would you never want to meet in real life?

There are several honestly, but I’m gonna narrow it down and say Junko. Anyone who meets her is doomed to have their life ruined.

68. Which character would you like to meet in real life?

I relate to most of the weeb and dorky characters, so I guess either Hifumi or Non-Evil Tsumugi.

69. Choose one character which you would take with you on a trip.

Mikan would be handy to have around in case I get injured while on a hike or something.

70. Character you would have a sleepover with?

I don’t feel any sort of attraction to her romantically, and I tend not to for fictional characters, but Kaede is someone I’d really want to hang out and be friends with.

71. Character you can relate to?

Makoto, and I know that’s the whole point of his character, but even though he’s kind of basic and lacking in any significant personality, I still like him a lot.

72. Character you can relate to but you dislike them?

I sympathize with Kiyo’s plight, and how he suffered a lot of emotional abuse from his sister, but with his final moments and how much bullshit came from it (particularly the implied incest subplot) I just couldn’t feel anything except eagerness when I watched him die.

73. Character who deserved better?

Than what they got, I guess Taka.

74. What do you think of Hiyoko Saionji?

If she had survived the game, she’d have been recognized as great a character as Fuyuhiko, since she would have had time to develop. Unfortunately, her lack of growth thanks to her death relegates her into just being “that bitch from Danganronpa” In general though, I don’t dislike her at all, I’m just not as strong on her as I am the rest of DR2′s cast, or DR’s cast in general.

75. Describe Gonta Gokuhara in 3 words!

The Best Boy.

76. Favourite research lab?

The research labs are a cool concept that I really wanted to see more of in things like Fangans. I think my favorite is either Shuichi’s or Kokichi’s.

77. What do you think of the fandom?

Honest to god, I feel more comfortable in the DR Fandom than I do any other Fandom I’m a part of. We have cringe, toxicity and the same old jokes, yes, but other Fandom’s I’m in, like Persona and My Hero Academia, have the same on a whole other level. I think the majority of the Danganronpa Fandom truly does genuinely care about the game series and I appreciate that.

78. Favourite random/unnecessary scene?

The Man’s Nut scene in Danganronpa 2 was god damn hilarious. I never ever really thought the Peeping Tom scenes in each game were wholly necessary and just existed as cheap fanservice, but the Man’s Nut scene is SO damn funny!

79. Which character has the cutest design?

Chihiro is the most adorable bean in the universe.

80. Hope or Despair?

I have no real preference, but I choose Hope because I like to think I’m not a bad person.

81. Could you be the Ultimate Lucky Student?

Probably not. I dunno.

82. Favourite chapter?

DR2 Chapter 4. The funhouse chapter hit differently.

83. Least favourite chapter?

DR2 Chapter 3 and DRV3 Chapter 3. The former primarily due to the Despair Disease and Nekomaru’s death at the hands of Akane’s stupidity, and the latter because of reasons I’ve already mentioned, particularly Angie’s Student Council.

84. Which character do you easily forget?

Pretty much half the Danganronpa 3 cast. Particularly Tengan, Izayoi, Gozu and Bandai.

85. Could you be a Dangan Protag? Why?

I’d love to be, but I’m not as quick-witted or inquisitive as the likes of Makoto, Hajime and Shuichi.

86. Favourite Anthology chapter?

I like a lot of them, but the one where they all make chocolate is really cute.

87. Describe Peko Pekoyama in 3 words!

She’s pretty cool. There’s not much to say about her. Even if she is the one who killed Mahiru, a character I love, she’s a lot more important to the plot than many realize, especially in regards to Fuyuhiko’s subplot.

88. Describe Mondo Oowada in 3 words!

Completely Underrated Marvel. Just refer to Question 19.

89. Least favourite Danganronpa 3 character?

Pretty much any of them that aren’t Seiko, Ryota, or Yukizome. I’m gonna say Juzo though, because of his whole bullshit that Junko used against him, and how the tragedy is primarily his fault.

90. Do you like Junko?

Not at first, but I like her a lot more as a villain now. She wasn’t that fun in the first game, but was better in the second.

91. What do you think of Monokuma?

As far as game mascots go, he’s alright, however, the more the series goes on, the less relevant he becomes. In V3, he serves no real importance, and the game may have been just as good without him, leaving us with just the Monokubs. I hate the Monokubs, but that’s primarily because their existence just takes Monokuma’s importance away. V3 would be so much better if we had one without the other, either way around.

92. Least favourite Monokub?

*Heavy breathing* Mono... *Heavy breathing* Fucking... *HEAVY BREATHING* PHANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE!

93. Did you like the Monokubs?

Not for the most part. Monophanie and Monokid suck, and I hate them both. Monosuke sucks for similar reasons, but he’s just kinda...boring...Up until the whole incest imagery in Chapter 4′s trial, Monotaro was actually ok, and had some really funny lines, and as I’ve mentioned, I love Monodam a whole lot, since he was the only one who had something close to a character arc.

94. Did you like the Warriors of Hope?

I guess? I do feel bad for most of them, but at the same time, they can be really annoying. They ARE just kids, so I get it, but still. Masaru, I really didn’t care for. He was arguably the most annoying, and Jataro, while I felt bad for him, wasn’t much better. Kotoko was pretty fun in the end, and Nagisa was a really well written character with a strong morality to him. Monaca is a pretty sinister villain too, but I don’t like her as much as Junko and Tsumugi.

95. What do you think of Gundham Tanaka?

HE IS EXCELLENT AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! Also, as I’m writing this, it’s his Bday, so happy Bday to Gundham Tanaka.

96. Who’s an overrated character you dislike?

I said Chiaki was overrated, but I don’t dislike her. I guess people like Kirumi too much considering how little development she gets overall.

97. Overrated ship which is your NOTP?

Komahina, do not test me on this. Everywhere I go, I see that ship that I know, from analyzing Nagito and Hajime’s relationship throughout the series, is incredibly toxic and would never realistically happen simply due to Nagito’s nature, and the way his FTE’s end means nothing to me.

98. Outfit you dislike?

Everyone’s always saying that Akane’s design sucks, and while I’m not too concerned on it overall, I do completely agree.

99. Your absolute NOTP?

Komahina again, and I guess JunkoMikan.

100. Opinion on all the Protagonists!

Makoto is relatable as hell, and I sympethise with him a lot. It’s quite fun to play as him in the first game, because he reacts more regularly to the characters in a way that most people probably would. I love Hajime’s reactions, and his backstory. I’m not too fond on most of the memes around him, like Organe Juice and the 91cm Titties, but in general, his reactions to things and the way he tends to call out his classmates is pretty entertaining. As I mentioned, Komaru, and I guess Toko, are my least favorite protagonist(s) but I still care about them both greatly. Komaru is as relatable as her brother, and UDG gives Toko the character development she so greatly needed in Game 1. Kaede is amazing, and is a character who gets too cussed out by people both in the game, and outside of it, and her death was super relevant, and an amazing twist I didn’t see coming. She’s just awesome in general. Shuichi, while Kaede’s death did upset me, he was an equally great protagonist, and I loved watching his growth throughout V3.

#danganronpa #ask meme

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lemonietrinket · 5 years ago

Text

Reach ||| Felix x Reader

Summary: After finding out that you are older than him, you feel like the chances of your crush liking you back immediately go from low to zero in a matter of minutes. But there are a few other things you don’t know about Felix, besides his age that you somehow managed to miss, so not all hope is lost...

Genre: Fluff, angst, with some small bits of humour thrown in Warning(s): Some poor language (inferred: text abbreviations) Word Count: 4329 (+11 photos of fake text) Theme Song: Sing Me - Day6

AN: A request from anon, I’m so sorry it took so long! I hope you like it, it did turn out a bit angstier (and a lot longer) than I originally intended but the fluff I think makes up for it!

~~~

You always felt so giddy and light whenever Felix was mentioned in any capacity in your vicinity. Your heart could never stop pounding at the speed of light, while your stomach was always alive with butterflies, fluttering up into your lungs and leaving you short of breath.

But now, dread slowly began to seep through your body like a poison, the butterflies ceasing up and stuttering. Their corpses fell to the pit of your guts, and those that did not became lodged in your chest and throat, leaving you without air for another reason entirely.

Your fingers numbly opened your laptop and pressed the keys of Felix’s name. You never searched him, you felt like it was an invasion of privacy, especially when he was normally right there within your physical grasp if you so wished to take it (which you never did, you were too afraid to take the leap). But this was something small, and though it was somehow something so huge while being so, you let yourself off just this once. Not that you could stop yourself even if you’d tried.

The screen turned white, the search bar scrolling unnaturally slowly, until finally Google returned your worst fear.

Age: 19. In bold, unavoidable text. As if you were stupid. And you felt as if you were.

It had to be wrong, it had to be. An inaccuracy in results. You’d seen them happen before, whales with four legs and members of other groups being represented by the wrong photo.

You clicked on the first webpage and scrolled, your eyes unblinking, unwavering. And then the second. And then the third.

19.

You pushed yourself away from the desk, your face a stone wall while your thoughts ravaged in your head.

You couldn’t comprehend how you’d been years older this whole time. You’d assumed he was your age, you were on such a similar wavelength that your subconscious hadn’t considered he wasn’t. Meanwhile the irrational part of your brain refused to be quiet. He isn’t even 20 yet, it said, think old you were when he was 18, when he was 17, when he was 16—

It was only three years. It wouldn’t mean anything in half a decade but it still weighed so heavily on your shoulders.

You knew Chan was still messaging you, the light on your phone wavering in the corner of your eye, blurred with brimming tears. The truth was though that you weren’t even crying, not with the rest of your body at least. You didn’t feel like it, the usual energy you had festering and leaving you empty, meaning the tears built up but refused to fall.

All of those beautiful smiles that put the sun to shame and had been directed to you meant little now—only that he probably liked you as his senior, nothing more. There was a chance that he only smiled at you to curry more favour, not because he genuinely liked you. All while the age-hierarchy indicated that all of those texts were probably just him responding to you because he felt like he had to. Even when hope tried to remind you that he didn’t grow up with it, and regularly texted first, the voidful feeling crushed it.

Because, ignoring all of the age-related qualms, you still hadn’t bothered to even ask him how old he was. That surely made you a bad friend, and if you couldn’t be a good friend to him then what partner would you be? You were undeserving of him, and he most definitely did not like you back.

Aimlessly, you moved from your desk chair to your bed, dragging the cold weight of you phone in your hand and letting the screen turn black. As you lay dejectedly upon the covers, your thoughts trailed off to think of the boy you’d fallen so hard and quickly for. His radiant smile that you wanted to be the reason for, his pretty eyes that you always found yourself gazing into no matter how much you told yourself not to, his adorable hands that you just longed to hold... It was as if his features were emblazoned in your mind, and nothing could wash them away, and it only made thinking how these things were out of reach for you now hurt more.

Hearing your phone vibrate by your head where you’d discarded it, you absentmindedly flicked your eyes up to look at the lit screen. Seeing who the notification was from, your fingers immediately opened it up before you could stop yourself, eyes scouring over the messages.

You’d forgotten all about the restaurant trip you had agreed to last week. Everyone was going to be there. Your thoughts briefly turned to rationalising an escape route—maybe if you claimed sick Chan would let you stay home, or maybe if you even told him the full truth he would?

It was nonsense of course, everyone was going, so you would have to attend at least for their sake. Plus, he would always say that moping wouldn’t help after all, and you had to face your demons eventually.

Nevertheless, it didn’t stop you from feeling a shedload of regret for agreeing. Even if there was no way you could have known, you scolded yourself for putting yourself in the line of potential damage.

Still, you couldn’t deny how badly you wanted to see everyone and catch up on everything—make new plans, learn new gossip—but you knew if you glanced at him, even just once, you would shatter.

With your mind in turmoil, you felt drawn to the clock ticking away endlessly on the other side of the room. It felt as if it was counting down to an end, though you put a quick stop to your melodramatic heart’s ramblings in this circumstance. You couldn’t focus on the sound for your own sanity’s sake, otherwise you wouldn’t head out at all. Opting to check the time, you spotted that you still had an hour and a half before you had to get ready, if you pushed it. And yes, rushing was not something you preferred, but you’d already made an exception for yourself today so why not another?

You slipped under your blankets, rolling over to face the wall and shut out the world. Gravity played its part and pulled the tears from the barricades of where they’d halted, clearing your eyes so you couldn finally close them comfortably.

You’d get through it. Perhaps things would be ok.

Smooth jazz music wafted across the air in the restaurant much like the rich scents of delicious food from the surrounding tables. With everyone smiling at one another, laughing into their drinks and desperately apologising to the next table over, you’d never felt more out of place.

You’d strategically sandwiched yourself between Chan and Jeongin, praying that this combination would be the most likely to not attract the attentions of Felix. But, to your luck, the person you were so desperately trying to avoid ended up sitting right opposite you. And, to make matters worse, he seemed very intent on trying to catch your eye, send you smiles, and—the worst part by far—talk to you.

Aimlessly picking at your rice with your spoon, you felt awful; not only were you unable to handle the situation quite literally right in front of you, you had practically become a deadweight in the group. Even when Jeongin asked you things, the boy who had grown up so much and never failed to make your laugh with is sass, you could barely muster answers configured of multiple sentences. All the while your eyes were cut off from looking at the vast majority of the room, forced to the confines of the table, your hard left and your hard right.

Soon enough, the time came where Felix finally spoke to you, and god you wanted the word to swallow you whole.

“Hey, Y/N, can you pass me the soy?”

Gulping, your forehead creased as you slipped your hand across to take the sauce from Chan and rigidly pass it across the wood.

He seemed to pay no mind to your wordlessness, replying with a bright, “Thank you!” All you could do was pray that would be the end of it.

But one of the qualities you admired in Felix was his diligence, and it took the form of gentle persistence on this occasion nonetheless.

“Hey, Y/N, do you want to play some video games at some point?” he enquired, hastily adding, “Jisung and I have been meaning to get round to trying out this new multiplayer, and it seems right up your street! The art is really cool, and I’ve already downloaded some of the soundtrack because it’s just that good.”

You centred your eyes awkwardly on your rice, answering as simply as you could, “Sorry I’m busy.”

You heard him chuckle, seemingly completely unfazed, and the sound snapped another one of your heartstrings, “Well, obviously not right now, but maybe, like, tomorrow evening?”

“Y-yeah, busy.” You hated how he quickly caught onto your silence and followed suit, but you also had to be thankful in some shape or form. Maybe you could get this night over and done with, and then get over your crush too and save yourself the majority of the heartbreak that you presumed was inevitable.

However, Felix was not that easily deterred and by your luck—or was it misfortune?—you suddenly saw movement out of the corner of your eye.

Taking the risk and glancing up ever so slightly, your gaze met the sight of your crush leant in over the table. His head was cocked cutely to one side, the feathered tresses of his fringe effortlessly accentuating his features, his hand reaching towards you carefully without a particular aim other than to try and show something. He’d inclined over to try and reach you, and you had accidentally fallen right into him, your eyes catching his and he smiled.

It wasn’t fair. Those pools of rich chestnut had held you and very nearly broken every single one of your defences. Your breath hitched in your throat.

“Are you ok?” he asked, and you could only stammer incoherent phrases, your cheeks heating up as you tried to hold yourself together.

There were many reasons why you had fallen so quickly for this boy in particular, like his resilience as mentioned earlier. Though another one of those things was his selfless kindness, and it had arisen to bite you: of course he would notice your silence, your crestfallen expression and worry. “Y/N? Do you feel sick? Do you want to get some air?”

Unable to respond once again, emptily swaying your spoon in a half-empty bowl you heard his voice at a strange distance. You didn’t snap back into focus, and only then barely so, until he continued, “Come on, lets get some air.”

Head empty and crowded at the same time, you looked up without fully understanding why. You could only rationalise that it was to see the sight of Felix sending a nod to Chan to your right, before asking Changbin to shift a bit so he could get through. Your heart lurched at it, the amount of care he offered you gnawing at your lungs.

Before you knew it, Jeongin was helping you stand, and you were out from around the table, following Felix a few steps behind.

Your focus once again settled on him and him alone, even though you’d promised yourself before you arrived to never do so again. You wanted to believe that he did all of this because he liked you back, that he’d fallen for you just as hard as you’d fallen for him, but you’d convinced yourself he was just extremely kind—and he of course was, therefore meaning that the story was all tied up and set.

Nevertheless, there wasn’t much that could have prepared you for what followed.

The cold hit your face and knocked the daze out of you, and you suddenly felt very awake, as if you’d fallen face first into a pool of ice cold water. Having stepped out onto the balcony, you had been plunged into the night with little to protect yourself with. Hence you wrapped your arms around yourself as best you could, drawing your jacket closed as your eyes surveyed the street just metres below.

The lamplights were warm against the navy of the night, and the few people that were still out dappled in and out of the shadows. You let your mind wander as to where they were going; a graveyard shift, out to a party, home. You wondered if any of them had someone waiting for them, a love they couldn’t wait to see and hold again after a long day out. The thought sent a pang through your heart.

The change of scenery had successfully distracted you from the person who had both directly and indirectly led you into it, but you couldn’t exist painless forever. You had to confront him now.

It was Felix who spoke first, though. Before you could even turn around, his voice, deep and sweet, danced across the breeze. “Hey, do you feel any better?”

You nodded simply, lips pressed together as to avoid anything stupid and sudden.

He sighed, a sound filled with relief but also an edge of something else. “Ah, that’s great. You do look it... the light’s returned to your eyes a bit.”

The wind buffered around the nearby buildings, a police siren wailing in the distance, catching your attention to the junction at the end of the street. Turning your head away from him, you shivered at the cold, listening intently to it fading away into the hum of the traffic.

“I guess you found out then,” Felix began suddenly, a car horn making the both of you jump.

“Found out what?” you asked, keeping your head ducked low as you turned back towards him.

You heard him pause but remained afraid to glance up. He hesitantly shuffled on his feet. “Th-that I have a crush on you.”

The world continued; the traffic bustled along the mainroad, people hurried along the streets, dogs barked at nothing.

But to you, everything went silent. Dead quiet. No wind, no clatter of shop gates, no mildly drunken yelling. Just your heartbeat, beating harder by the second, and the sound of your crush’s nervous breathing.

You looked up at him at last, to see his face obscured by his arm as he rubbed the back of his neck idly. He moved it away eventually, revealing his head downturned as yours had been just moments before.

You stood transfixed as his voice wavered, knocked by the wind as he attempted to explain, as if he needed to rectify a mistake. “I-it’s ok, I don’t want to ruin the friendship now, I—uh...” he broke off as he swallowed thickly, and you noticed that his cheeks weren’t flushed from the cool air, but rather from the tears that were welling in his eyes. “I want you to know that I’m so happy with being just friends, and... I really hope I haven’t made you feel awkward around me and—I’m sorry I...”

You found it so cruel of the world to make his eyes glisten as if they held the stars when they cradled tears. It was a form of twisted irony that he didn’t deserve. But it was the final straw that made your heart snap.

The spring of tension and worry and fear uncoiled as you reached across the deck for him, pulling him into the care of your arms. You were taken aback by how neatly they fit around him, how perfectly he rested against your chest and how his nose nuzzled into your neck.

“No, it’s ok! Shh, don’t be sorry, you have no reason to be sad. Please don’t be sad,” you found yourself whispering, your voice so fragile that it no doubt was carried away by the wind as soon as it fell to his ear.

You rubbed your hand soothingly across the mid of his back, the other tracing up to his hair and stroking the tresses there. Meanwhile, Felix remained confused. he longed to sink into your touch, his fingers gripping at your jacket being proof of that, but he couldn’t bring himself to relax.

“What...? Why are you...?”

A smile slowly rising to your lips, you didn’t waste a second.

“You haven’t ruined anything, I’d be so happy with being friends with you too, but—I like you Felix, I have a crush on you too...!” you rushed, pulling away to hold him at arm's length. Upon seeing his shining, wide eyes and his puffed, pouting lips you sighed in relief. Reaching up, you cupped his face in your palms, like you’d wanted to do for so long. “God, I was such an idiot...!”

“No, you’re not stupid!” Felix emphasised, barely coming to terms with your confession himself.

Though you nodded desperately, caressing his cheek with your thumb. “But I am. I thought you didn’t like me back.” It was then that reality decided to hit you full force, the sound of the rest of the world returning to yours as you exclaimed, “Oh my god, you like me back?!”

“Y-you like me back?!” he echoed, hands fumbling at his chest before finally gaining the courage to come to your shoulders instead. There he delicately ran his fingers across your shoulders, as if to check if you were even real. “Why—why wouldn’t I like you back?”

“Because you’re younger than me!” you said, “I didn’t think you’d see me as even viable, like, I thought you saw me as only a senior to you and that...” You gazed into his eyes, no longer cradling stars but rather glistening with the gold from the restaurant behind you, watching as they widened even further. “Why would I not like you back?”

“Because you’re older than me! I thought I wasn’t cool enough for you, and that you only were nice to me because you had to look out for me!”

His answer forced an astonished laugh out of both of you, and before you knew it the pair of you were in borderline hysterics. Felix fell back to cover his mouth with his fist, walking an aimless circle as you merely bent over, hiding behind your palms.

“We’re so stupid!” he announced, his eyes wide and incredulous, all the signs of tears long gone.

You sank your teeth into your bottom lip as you knocked your head back up, staring at him incredulously as you shook your head. “At least we both are.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, returning to you, his hands reaching for yours, “we can be dumb together.”

“Exactly, it’s merely proof that we belong together.”

You didn’t think your words through then, but any fear was met with strength, as Felix showed no sign of disagreement—rather the opposite, gently caressing your hands in his before you finally interlocked your fingers. Back together, only inches apart, you were once again in each other’s solace, stood against the auburn haze of the city night and the cold it brought.

“I don’t want to be friends with you anymore,” he murmured, the brightest grin on his face as he glanced to your lips.

“Neither do I.”

Desperately trying to keep yourself together as the proximity and the intentions of both his and your words, you leant in until your foreheads met. There you welcomed the grace of the small touch with your whole heart, wondering if you would reach out to what you had dreamt of.

With your eyes closed, unable to take in the sight of his soft beauty, you took in the scent of him as his deep voice caught your attention. “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes!”

Your words barely rolled of your tongue before the final gap had been closed between you and your lips met at last.

His kiss was not what you expected; it was soft yet deep, as if he wished to instil final proof that he meant everything he’d said. You couldn’t help but melt into him, your hands drawing away from his own, only so you could loop them behind his neck. He mirrored you, his hands finding the small of your back, and pulling you closer as you pressed into him.

Perhaps this time the world did stop, to momentarily regard you and the kiss that summarised all the feelings that had lingered in your soul for months. After all, it was a resurrection event too, as the butterflies’ sparks reignited, sending them spiralling throughout your body and you back into radiant life.

It didn’t matter to you though, as your world stopped and that was all that was important in that second. Just the feel of his lips soft and plump between yours, and the hum of absolute relief that mottled through your throat at the touch.

You pulled apart with a gasp from both sides, still entwined with your arms.

Felix cursed, smile immediately returning to his features.

“What?” You cocked your head inquisitively.

“It’s so cold,” he said, exaggerating a shiver playfully to emphasise his point.

You rolled your eyes at him with a chuckle, stepping away but instantly taking his hand into yours. It was a decision of mixed results, as yes you were holding his hand, but now you had to come to terms with just how tiny they were and how devastated that made you.

“Hey, stop ogling my hands!” he pouted.

You perhaps would have pressed the matter if you weren’t still dazed by how quickly everything in your life had changed for you. You swept your head back, before pulling your best Australian accent, “You don't like me ‘cause of my personality...”

He immediately caught on, the two of you immediately wailing, “Only ‘cause my body!”

You continued to laugh together as you made your way back inside the restaurant, grateful to be in the warm again.

“Honestly, I try to be nice to him one time...!” Felix said, pursing his lips as he shook his head.

“I know right! And he just throws it right back...!”

“Terrible hyung!”

“Hundred percent!”

As you turned the corner to where your table was, you only just caught sight of Hyunjin looking over in your direction before he suddenly shouted.

“Finally!”

Confused, you took the lead, “Hey, sorry guys, I hope we weren’t gone for—”

All of a sudden you were confronted with seven guys sighing and sinking into their chairs with relief. Changbin was rubbing his eyes, Minho had his eyes centralised on the ceiling, all the while Jeongin was grinning wildly at Seungmin, a hand outstretched and beckoning for something, to which the elder was desperately miming for him to cut out.

No answer came to mind until you noticed Jisung exasperatedly smiling at the two of you, or more specifically your interlinked hands.

Glancing at Felix, silently asking him if he knew about this to which he shook his head bemusedly, your attention was taken away by Chan who had stood, making his way to the both of you.

“At last,” he stated, his features folded into tired relief, “praise the lord, I was starting to think we were going to need divine intervention—”

You heard Minho pipe up behind, “By divine intervention he means me!”

“—but thankfully we didn’t. God, I’m just happy that you finally did it.”

“Thanks...?” Felix looked at him sheepishly.

You exhaled a laugh, bringing your new boyfriend a little bit closer to your side—something he of course didn’t have a single gripe with—ahead of catching Chan’s attention. “Bang, what is all of this?”

He pouted. “Hey! You can’t get mad at us for being sick of you two! Imagine having to watch two obviously-in-love people dance around the in-love-with-each-other part for months. It was driving us insane!” Before you could interject, the he continued, “It doesn’t matter now, we’re just happy that you’re together now at least. And look! Because I’m a good leader I’ve moved myself out of the way so you two can sit next to each other.”

Unable to quite comprehend this further development, that the entire group had been anxiously waiting for you to get yourselves together and confess for as long as you’d literally liked each other, you murmured a ‘thank you’, before beginning to make your way to your new seats.

Your food was inevitably cold, but neither of you minded at all. The rush of newfound love had sated your appetites rather enough for tonight, though you expected you could go for one more thing.

Ignoring the bustle of his group mate’s comments, and the rather proud smile of Chan opposite you, you turned to Felix, “Hey, do you want to share some ice cream?”

The look on his face made your heart flutter instantaneously.

It was as if the sun had risen, his pretty smile gleaming while his nose scrunched sweetly. “Yes please!”

Knowing his favourite flavour of the top of your head, you sat back and let Hyunjin call for the waitress so everyone could order desserts. Even when the others spoke to you, and even though you felt even more alive than normal, you always found yourself looking back to Felix, taking in the sculpture of his adorable face that you now could hold between your fingers if you so wished.

He meanwhile got shy under your gaze, smiling to himself as he looked away coyly.

As you leant in to whisper how adorable he looked in his ear, you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. Taking it out swiftly, your heart swelled as you read the message upon your lockscreen. Sending a thankful grin to the man opposite you, you quickly turned your attention to detailing your order to the waitress.

And at last, things were much more than ok.

~~~

AN: ok so this took longer than i imagined (like a solid 4 hours at least, idek i wasnt actually counting)

the irony is i actually wrote that felix’s age was 20 until i luckily checked and found he was still 19. i’d forgotten to count that his birthday hadn’t happened yet but. yeah. proud stay moment.

apologies for any poor quality ss, my phone hates me

i hope you enjoyed anon and so again for the wait!

Masterlist

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